


Generosity

by Skylark



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Awkward Flirting, Chance Meetings, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-24
Updated: 2014-12-24
Packaged: 2018-03-03 08:08:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,236
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2844047
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skylark/pseuds/Skylark
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sugawara goes still, and you cock your head at an angle you know girls find quite charming.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Generosity

**Author's Note:**

  * For [downmoon](https://archiveofourown.org/users/downmoon/gifts).



You see him long before he sees you. He's under the spotlight of a solitary streetlamp, scrutinizing the contents of a vending machine. A stray cat winds around his feet.

Instead of moving forward, you decide to watch for a moment. Unaware of your presence, Sugawara's fingers stroke lightly across one button before drifting to another one. He looks down at the change in his hand and his mouth moves silently, probably running those famous mental calculations. Then he frowns.

He looks at the machine again and the crumple in his brow is still there. The cat meows, a sharp sound that cuts through the background hum of the city streets, and he glances down at it. His face softens into a small smile, and something about the kindness in his expression causes you to step forward.

He hears you once you start moving. As he turns, you watch his face smooth from lingering affection to polite blankness. "Oikawa-kun," he says, "good evening." His voice is mild, barely interested. You pick your brightest smile to make up for it.

"Sugawara-kun," you reply. "Buying drinks for everyone? What a dutiful vice-captain."

His answer is a twitch of his shoulders. He stands firm as you approach him, his eyes tracking you as you kneel to pet the cat at his feet. It headbutts your fingers and purrs when you scratch behind its ears.

"How about you?" Sugawara asks you when it becomes clear that you're not leaving. How polite, you think.

"I can wait until you're done," you reply, magnanimous. You keep your head down as if you're still focused on the cat, but your eyes are on his feet, which don't move back towards the vending machine. You feel the same touch of pride you feel when you've accurately read the court.

"You can go first," Sugawara says, but he's not as good at injecting levity into his voice as you are. When you look up, his face is cast in shadow from the lamp overhead, but you can still see the tension at the corners of his mouth.

"Is something wrong, Sugawara-kun?"

His eyes narrow, not in anger but not entirely thoughtful, either. Then the look softens; dismissal. "It's fine," he says, moving away. The cat stays with you, and you feel vaguely irritated. "I should—"

"If you don't have enough," you interrupt, "I could spot you."

He stops dead at that. The gaze he throws you is sharp, and you smile placidly back. "You'd do the same for me, after all," you add. He blinks, his expression shifting from suspicion to something more off-balance.

You push the advantage, rising to your feet and pulling your wallet out of your back pocket. As the cat leans against your shins in protest, you hear him mutter, "...If you really wouldn't mind." 

Victory makes your smile widen. "It would be my pleasure," you say. "What are you getting?"

You learn that Asahi likes milk tea, Nishinoya likes ramune, and Daichi likes black coffee. "And what about you?" you ask.

The smile he gives you is a small, sharp thing. "I'm fine," he says.

"Come on," you say, leaning against the vending machine. The pressure hits a button at random, and by the time you realize your mistake a drink has clattered down. As you jerk upright he stoops down to swipe it out of the dispenser area, his shoulder bumping against your thigh in his haste.

"This is fine," he says. At your look of dismay his eyebrow quirks into the first look of genuine amusement you've seen all night. It looks good on him, even if it's at your expense.

You blink, then smile. "Apple juice," you comment, looking at the bottle in his hand. "I'll remember that for next time." His expression goes flat, unimpressed, and you chuckle. "I'm getting this," you say, making your purchase and leaning down to pull a Pocari Sweat from the machine. You hold it up so he can see it.

"I didn't ask," Sugawara says. It startles a small laugh out of you.

"I saved you the trouble of asking," you say. "I'm a very nice person, you know."

"Seems that way," he says gently. You blink, and then realize he's referencing the fact that you just bought Karasuno drinks. "Thanks again. I'll pay you back."

You smile. "Go on a date with me and we'll call it even." 

Sugawara goes still, and you cock your head at an angle you know girls find quite charming.

"You want to go on a date," he repeats.

"I'll be a perfect gentleman," you say. "You won't regret it."

He looks at you, and then up at the sky. You know he does that on the court when he's coming to terms with new data. "All right," he says after a pause. "Just a date, right?"

"Just a date," you assure him, "though I might let you have a second one if you ask nicely." That startles an amused huff out of him, and your grin widens. You pull a pen out of your pocket. "I'll give you my number."

"I don't have anything to write on," he points out.

You wink at him, twirling the pen in your fingers. "Don't worry, I can improvise."

You bend to scribble it on the back of his hand, tongue sticking out of the corner of your mouth as you carefully ink each digit on his skin. His hand is cold from the evening air and the chilled bottles he's carrying. You hear his quiet intake of breath above your head, but he doesn't say anything.

Sugawara isn't the kind of person to let strangers write on his hand without comment. That means you're not a stranger; that means you've been accepted. Pleasure spikes through your blood like adrenaline.

You blow against his skin to dry the ink, but really just to make him shiver. When you straighten again he's frowning at you. "There," you say, satisfied. "Call me any time you're free. Do you need help with those?"

"I'm fine," he says. His mouth is smiling but his eyes are intent on you, assessing. He's been thrown by your last little stunt. When his eyes narrow just like that, a little wary, a little mystified—it's when he looks best, you think.

You feel like preening, knowing that his focus is all on you. You always did love an audience.

"It's late, Oikawa-kun," he says. "We should go."

You pout. "You aren't enjoying my company?"

His smile turns patient. "It's late," he repeats. "Good night, Oikawa-kun."

It seems like you've used up all your brownie points for today. You slump back against the machine, relenting, and raise a hand to wave. "Bye-bye, Sugawara-kun. Say hello to Sawamura for me."

He makes a noncommittal sound in answer and turns away from you, his mind already moving elsewhere.

The cat stares at you for a moment and then turns to trot after him. You can hear its meow fading in the distance as he turns the corner and out of sight.

You linger by the vending machine for a moment more, thinking about the way your pen bumped over the long bones underneath his skin. Then you push your hand through your hair, a deep sigh dispelling the lingering tension in your shoulders. When you move away from the machine and back into the darkness, you're whistling.


End file.
